Check back often for volunteer opportunities
UPDATE ON THE DEMIDOVICH FAMILY
AS OF FEBRUARY 2023: Latest Update on the Demidovich Family
Vladimir and Mark have arrived safely from Ukraine! The family is enjoying their time together after so many months apart! Vladimir and Mark will need to begin English classes as soon as possible. We have an urgent need for drivers to get them back and forth to classes. The classes are two days a week from 9-12 in Smyrna. Other imminent needs include a car and late model smart phones. Irina is hoping to have her driver’s license soon and the family will need a car. Do you have one to donate or sell at a compassionate price? We are trying to get the family connected with US numbers but are having difficulty finding compatible phones. Have you recently upgraded, or maybe you’re thinking about an upgrade? We would love to have your old phones! If you would like to help the Demidovich family with any of these items, please contact Nicole File (404)274-8268 filenicole@gmail.com
As of January 2023:
Irina, Natan and Timur continue to settle into their new home, and the boys are excelling at school! The family are now receiving Food Stamp benefits and Medicaid health care and are working with a refugee resettlement agency towards a holistic life plan. We are still looking for a few items to make their new life more comfortable: A car – Irina is working on preparing for her driver’s license test and is in need of a car. If you have one to donate or sell for a compassionate price, please let us know. A smart phone (Android preferred)– Timur is the only one in the family without a compatible phone to keep in communication with his family. Two Dressers, and low shelves for 2 bedroom closets
If you would like to help the Demidovich family with any of these items, please contact
Nicole File (404) 274-8268 filenicole@gmail.com
As of December 2022 : Click here to view their ‘Give in Kind’ page
Irina, Timur, and Natan are settling in nicely at their new home. The boys started at Mabry Middle School last week, and they love it! Everyone is so supportive and some school staff even bought the boys bikes for Christmas (shhhh!) and are helping out with school supplies. We have applied for Medicaid, SNAP/food stamps, refugee benefits, Social Security cards, and work authorization, and are awaiting processing. The family is also in touch with a resettlement agency that will help with all kinds of things including health screenings and job hunting. Many parishioners have donated items including furniture, décor, groceries, clothing, gift cards, an iPad, basketball goal, etc. Several have also stepped up to provide transportation, taken them for fresh haircuts and to shop with their gift cards, and enjoyed lunch or dinner with them (including the mandatory indoctrination at Waffle House). Others have provided technical support and helped with complex paperwork. We thank you all! We anxiously await news on Vladimir and Mark, Irina’s husband and eldest son. For now, they have had to return to Ukraine and are working on their emigration case from there. Meanwhile, they are volunteering to take food and other aid into some of the hottest frontline towns where residents can’t get out and shop easily. Although they are usually without electricity, heat and even water, Vladimir has used some of his precious online time to thank us several times for making sure his wife and young sons are safe. He says it is “soothing” to know they are cared for and that he and Mark are prayed for. CHRISTMAS: Another organization has stepped up to provide the children with many gifts! Like all moms, Irina hardly ever asks for anything for herself. If you would like to pamper her, she is 5’3” and wears size 14-16, size 7 shoes. She loves cooking & baking but doesn’t drink alcohol. She enjoys visiting museums, historical places, and forests/parks. She is extremely talented at crafts and decorating, and finds it healing to make floral arrangements, centerpieces, etc. Timur, 13, loves basketball and soccer, as well as Legos and video gaming. Natan, 11, loves art and makes his own animated characters, turning them into short films and video games. If you would like to contribute anything, please contact Nicole File to arrange delivery. Going forward, we are looking for a reliable, inexpensive used car. We are also looking for inexpensive family outings to share with the Demidoviches (keeping in mind the boys don’t speak much English yet). Thank you for all you’ve done and are doing. The Lord is doing powerful work in all our lives through this endeavor, and the name of Christ as well as ECA is being spread far and wide. Please reach out to Nicole File with any questions or suggestions.
Support our Ukrainian Family 10/22:
The Demidovich family is beginning a new life in America thanks to the generous support and stewardship of ECA. Many may not realize that this is the second time the family has lost everything. In the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine, their hometown was the first place attacked. They had to flee their home suddenly and leave everything behind. Although their house survived and they were eventually able to return, everything had been looted. After painstakingly replacing everything, now they have lost it again. All Volodymyr’s construction tools and materials, all Irina’s tools and materials for her wedding decor business, and almost all their clothing, personal items, and cherished keepsakes had to be abandoned. They are arriving in America with just a few suitcases of belongings, mostly donated by their German hosts. Let’s help them get a new start and have a lovely holiday season! Click here to view their ‘Give in Kind’ page.
| Holy Rollers – Transportation Volunteers Needed: ECA needs volunteers to help transport parishioners to and from church. If you feel like you can help with this ministry, please contact Ron Allen (ronallenga@yahoo.com). Thank You! |
Current: Non-perishable food donations needed for MUST Ministry, Papa’s Pantry, and Never Alone.
Emmaus House: https://www.emmaushouseatlanta.org
Family Promise: https://familypromise.org
Episcopal Relief and Development: https://www.episcopalrelief.org